Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jack and Gwen were out investing 'A stitch in time' which was a shop owned by Bilis while Ianto was on the coms providing them with information. I was out in the field, co-ordinating the police in an effort to protect civilians and control the fall out.

I still had the com active so I could hear what was going on with Gwen and Jack but they couldn't hear me. Despite being able to hear what was happening, I stopped paying attention to the com once Billis had disappeared. I couldn't hold the split attention while I was co-ordinating efforts.

Since the splintering was increasing as the day past, I established a city-wide curfew. By five o'clock everyone was to have left work, and be back in their homes. No one was allowed to be on the streets for their own safety. All emergency services were called in, including their reserves in order to set up this effort to protect as many people as possible.

The hospitals were struggling with the increase in deceases and injuries, but they had managed to get a handle on the spread of the plague and nothing worse had come through the rift yet. They had also called in all on-call staff members.

"Do you have a way of stopping this?" captain Gregson asked. As the largest precinct I had been communicating through their radio giving final orders.

"There's always a way." I answered back, moving away from the masses to look out the window to Cardiff.

"That means you don't know." Gregson said grimly.

"There is one way, but the risk of doing so could ruin us all." I told him grimly. "We're currently running simulations and risk assessments to see if it's possible. And if not, if there is another way."

I frowned when my phone rang. Why was Jack phoning me instead of using the coms?

"Captain?" I asked seriously.

"Bilis showed Gwen a vision of the future. She's locked her soul mark in the holding cells. I'm calling everyone back to the hub." Jack said in a clipped tone.

"Alright, I'm on my way. I've prepared the emergency services as best I can, and the news have been alerted that a curfew is in place. All civilians will be off the streets by five tonight at the latest – couldn't make it any sooner, but it has been recommended that all non-essential travel and business be closed immediately." I informed Jack.

"Hopefully this will be over before five." Jack said grimily hanging up.

"Bad news?" Gregson asked.

"You know how you didn't like Gwen?" I asked with a sigh.

"Causing problems in a time like this." Gregson shook his head.

I gave him a grim smile before leaving.

When I got to the hub it was to discover that the emergency lights were on, which meant they were running on emergency power and there was an intruder. I drew my firearm.

Fortunately, I had only used the tranquillisers which meant I was still (technically) fully armed.

The main hub was empty of everyone except Ianto who was stood scanning the CCTV footage.

"Ianto?" I asked quietly.

"We had an invader in the hub. Rhys has been stabbed." Ianto answered in a detached voice.

"Do they need medical?" I asked, coming up to Ianto.

"It's too late." Ianto shook his head.

"The intruder?" I prompted. I felt horrible trying to get information when Ianto was clearly struggling to understand the situation. But I couldn't relax and stand down until I knew.

"Bilis. He's gone."

"Ianto." I sighed, putting my weapon away and turning Ianto away from the screen which was showing Gwen rocking Rhys bloodied body. "Ianto, come on. I need you to focus."

"Sorry, it's just…" Ianto stuttered. "I saw Lisa… she…"

"Ianto." I said, grabbing Ianto and forcing him to look at me. "Listen to me. Lisa is gone. Whatever you saw, whatever she said, is not real."

"But she…"

"No!" I said urgently, cutting Ianto off. "Listen to me. Lisa is gone and she can't come back. You know this."

Ianto's posture seemed to slump. "I know." He whispered.

I pulled the distraught man into a hug. "Go, take a few minutes. Make a cup of tea. Compose yourself." I ordered gentle once I was sure Ianto would be okay with me stepping back.

I watched Ianto disappear into the kitchen before I headed to the autopsy room and grabbed the portable gurney and a white sheet.

I found the rest of the team on level twelve. Jack was trying to convince a distraught Gwen to release Rhys' body while Tosh was tapping rapidly at a handheld device – trying to restore power.

"Go back to the main hub." I told Tosh softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. I could tell that she was barely holding it together. "And you need to countermand the intruder protocol before restoring power."

"Right, yes." Tosh whispered. "I knew that."

Once Tosh was gone, I approached Jack and Gwen. I placed the gurney on the floor next to the body.

"Gwen, wouldn't it be better to take him from the cells, maybe clear him up a bit?" I spoke softly, encouragingly.

Gwen looked at me with red eyes and a tear streaked face.

"You don't have to leave him." I spoke before Gwen could argue.

Gwen released the hold on Rhy's body allowing Jack and I to place him on the gurney. I covered him in the white sheet, but I left his face so Gwen could see it.

We transferred Rhys to the autopsy table, while Jack encouraged Gwen to sit down so he could remove the blood from her hands.

"I'll have to tell his family." Gwen said blankly. Gwen's tears had stopped.

"We'll deal with it." Ianto said, joining Tosh on the steps leading into the autopsy room.

"The way you dealt with that porter the first time I met you?" Gwen snapped. "No, you won't deal with him, Ianto."

"Gwen, I am so sorry." Tosh had managed to pull herself back together and restore normal functioning of the hub.

"You never even met him." Gwen snorted. "This is what happens here. We all end up alone. Not me. No way. You bring him back." Gwen ordered Jack.

"No." Jack responded shortly. He wasn't going to give in or back down on this.

"The Resurrection gauntlet." Gwen said desperately.

"Was destroyed." I reminded her.

"We've got to have something else." Gwen shook her head.

"I said no." Jack inserted.

"No, there's something wrong with time, so er, we, we can go back to the moment, to the very moment."

"Gwen." Jack tried interrupting.

"There's something you can do, otherwise what's the fucking point of you!" Gwen flew at Jack who stood so he could better control Gwen who was trying to take her grief, denial and anger out on him. "You, you bring him back! Bring him back. You bring him back. Do you understand me, Jack fucking Harkness!"

"I'm sorry." Jack said simple looking over Gwen's head to where I was stood.

"Do you?!" Gwen demanded.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

Owen ran into the room before he paused, taking in the scene. "Oh, shit. What happened?"

"You came back." Tosh said happily as Owen went down the stairs.

"Are you all right?" Owen took Gwen from Jack. "You okay? You all right?"

"Don't touch me!" Gwen wrenched herself from Owen's arms.

"How many other people have got to suffer?" Owen demanded of Jack. "I'm gonna fix this. I'm opening the rift." Owen ran out the room with Ianto following him.

"Make sure you stop him." Jack warned.

Ianto paused for just a moment, but he didn't turn around. "No."

"We're gonna help him." Tosh tagged on going after them.

"Bilis was right. He said open the Rift and everything goes back to normal. Owen's right. I'm going to get Rhys back." Gwen took off after the others.

"We have to stop them." I told Jack with wide eyes. "Opening the Rift caused this mess."

"I know." Jack ran up the stairs and we went to the main part of the hub together.

"Enter Emergency Protocol One." Ianto ordered.

"Out of the way, I'll do this." Gwen pushed the others out of the way and started typing.

"Get away from the computer, Gwen." Jack ordered.

"Jack." Owen stopped between them.

"This is a trap. All these cracks around the world, they're diversions. This is what Bilis wants." Jack informed them.

"What are you afraid of, Jack?" Owen asked in a taunting voice.

"Rhea Silva." Ianto told Gwen the password.

"Ianto." I let the betrayal seep into my voice. Ianto had the passwords because of his work in the archives, but after this none of them would have access to these passwords. Not until they could get mine and Jack's trust back. Ianto looked away from me.

"I said move." Jack said darkly, drawing his gun and pointing it at Owen.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tosh demanded.

"Final warning." Jack informed them.

"Come on, Jack." Gwen stepped away from the computer slightly.

"You're a united front now? Toshiko, the poor girl who'll screw any passing alien that gives her a pendant? Owen, so strong he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Or Ianto, hiding his cyber girlfriend in the basement." Jack glared at each member of the team.

"I've got to get Rhys back." Gwen said pleadingly.

"Yeah, cos you're so in love with Rhys that you spend half your time in Owen's bed."

Despite taunting Gwen, Jack didn't anticipate Gwen punching him hard enough to send him to the ground. Owen grabbed his gun and pointed it at Jack.

"Fuck you!"

"We're relieving you of your command, Captain. We're opening that rift and getting back what we lost." Owen turned the gun so it was pointed at me when I went to grab my own gun. "Don't think about it Raven."

"What are you going to do, Owen? Shoot me?" I asked. "You need everyone's retina scans for authorisation."

"What are you going to do now?" Jack challenged, getting to his feet and forcing Owen to turn the gun on him. "You're in charge, Owen? You've gotta have significantly bigger balls."

I barely had any warning that it was going to happen, a sudden hardening in Owen's emotions and he pulled the trigger. Twice, in rapid fire between the eyes. Then, two more in the chest.

"NO!" I shouted in horror. I knew that Jack couldn't die, but to see him shot down. To feel his life just gone. I collapsed next to Jack, my hands hovering over Jack's body before resting over his heart.

I looked up at the team, they had taken each over's retina scans and Gwen was holding the machine to take Jacks. They must have taken the gun from Owen while I wasn't paying attention because now they were all unarmed.

"I'm not going to let you take my retina scan." I told them; my voice thick with the tears that I wouldn't shed.

"Raven, you've been on the go for more than thirty hours. You don't have the strength to stop us." Owen tried cautioning me but I didn't listen.

I surged to my feet, slapping the retina scan from Gwen's hand and kicking her in the chest to force her away from me. Owen jumped forward in an attempt to contain me, but I simple knocked his hand to the side and punch him hard enough in the nose to break it, while also jabbing at his gunshot wound. Owen stumbled away from me with a cry of pain.

Bang!

I turned disbelieving eyes on Tosh who dropped the gun, her hands shaking. Suddenly Owen was grabbing me and lowering me to the ground, putting pressure on my stomach. Pain broke through the shock.

"Get off me!" I growled trying to push Owen away while Gwen approached with the Retina scan.

"I'm sorry." Owen muttered, his voice coming out muffled due to the broken nose. "But no one else has to die."

Between Owen's hold and the gunshot wound I couldn't get away. I closed my eyes and turned my head away but Gwen simple forced my eyes open and took the scan anyway.

Once the scan was taken, I pushed at Owen until he let me go. I used my left hand to put pressure on my wound before making my way to Jack.

As an alarm sounded, warning of possible structural damage, I touched Jack's face. The bullet wounds had healed. Just as the ground started shaking under them Jack took a breath and automatically clutched at me.

"What have you done?" he demanded of the team, taking in the alarms and what felt like an earthquake. The rift was open.

"It's not safe." Tosh shouted, tapping at the computers as sparks started coming off the water tower.

"We have to get out of here." Gwen shouted. She went to help Jack but I glared at her and got to my feet, helping Jack get to his own.

He hadn't fully healed; he wasn't ready to come back yet. But he had woken himself up because of the danger they were in. I had one arm putting pressure on the bullet wound while the other was hooked under Jack's shoulders taking a lot of his weight as I helped him stumble out of the hub following the rest of the team.

"Keep moving." Jack ordered when they got to the back street which the exit they had taken led to.

Bilis appeared in front of them.

"From out of the darkness, he is come." Bilis quoted.

"What is he talking about?" Gwen asked confused.

"Son of the Great Beast, cast out before time, chained in rock and imprisoned beneath the rift."

"What?"

Despite being in an alley they could see the beast which towered over the buildings. It was horned and looked a lot like the depictions of the daemons and devils.

"All hail Abaddon, the great Devourer, come to feast on life. I look upon you, my god, and…"

I didn't let Bilis finish, I simple drew my gun and shot him in the head while he was distracted praising the beast. He had caused them far too many problems to allow him to leave now, even if they managed to stop this beast.

The people were running in the streets, screaming in terror. Anyone who fell into the beast's shadow died.

"How do we stop it? Tell me what to do, Jack!" Gwen demanded, panicked and looking for direction.

"Raven, get me to an open space." Jack tried straightening up, but he was still too weak and in too much pain to do so.

"Stay here." I ordered the others, my voice so cold and hard that they all froze and did as I requested.

I got Jack into the SUV which I had parked in the alley. Fortunately, it had been quicker to leave the SUV here instead of putting it into the garage when they were working on active cases. Once Jack was in the passenger seat I moved to the drivers' seat and took off.

"You're hurt." Jack realised with a frown.

"I'll be fine." I told him though gritted teeth, putting my foot to the floor and shifting gears as I sped around a corner. The only open space was the waste lands which over looked the city and the bay. Normally it would take ten minutes to get there. At the speed I was going, it would take two but hundreds were dying in the meantime.

"That's a bullet wound. Did Owen shoot you?" Jack demanded.

"Tosh." I corrected tightly. "I wouldn't let them take my retina scan."

Jack's eyes closed in pain. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apology for. They should have never tried and opened the rift. We would have found a way." I slammed on the breaks and even pulled the handbrake to stop the car quicker.

By the time I got around the SUV Jack had managed to stumble out of the car. I shouldered some of his weight and we stumbled together to the edge of the wasteland.

"You have to get out of here. Quickly." Jack ordered.

"Humanity couldn't ask for a better guardian then you." I told Jack in a whispered, pecking his lips in a quick kiss before I stepped away and stumbled back to the SUV. Jack waited until I had started reversing away before turning to Abaddon and attracting its attention.

"Bring it on!"

When the beast shadow fell on Jack he screamed in pain, falling to his knees. I stopped the SUV just outside of the shadows reach.

Never taking my eyes off Jack, I reached into the glove box and pulled out the medical kit. I grabbed the pad and applied it to the wound before I grabbed the bandages and wrapped it tightly around myself. I'd already lost a lot of blood since I'd not been putting any pressure on it while driving, and I was feeling slightly week and lightheaded from the blood lose. I'd just secured it when Abaddon roared, falling to its knees before disappearing in a white light.

With the drain gone, Jack finally collapsed. I moved the SUV closer before getting out and falling on my knees next to Jack. His skin was extremely pale, his lips blue. He looked like a corpse and I could find no pulse.

I gentle closed Jack's eyes before getting him into the back of the SUV, wrapping a blanket around his body. Before I drove back to the hub, I sent a text to captain Gregson telling him it was over.

I carried Jack's body into the hub, finding the others waiting for me.

"My god, is he?" Gwen asked tears in her eyes.

"Go home to your boyfriend Gwen." I told her in a voice which was distant and void of emotions. "You did all this because you wanted him back, so go to him."

I began to navigate the debris and rubble from the pieces of the hub which hadn't stood up against the activation of the rift. I was going to put Jack to bed, in one of the few places he still felt safe in this world.

"Let me help you." Ianto took a step forward but stopped when I shot him a look.

"You can help by starting to put this place back together. Check the vaults, make sure that all those who were time displaced have been returned. Tosh, check the computers and equipment. We need to know what's been damaged. Owen, you're going to want to prepare your medical kit. I still have a bullet in my stomach." And with that I walked past the four of them.

Since I was using a fireman's carry in order to take Jack's weight despite him being taller and heavier than I am, I was able to open the door to his office without much hassle. Opening the trap door was a completely different story but I managed it.

I sat Jack on his bed, removing his long coat and boots before lying him down. I would put him in a clean set of clothes once I had my injuries tended to. But I couldn't keep ignoring the bullet.

Once Owen had removed the bullet and stitched me up, I prevented him from doing a more thorough medical exam. I pulled my blood-stained shirt down to cover the bandages and headed into the main hub.

"Raven, I know you have other injuries. Let me treat them." Owen followed.

"I can treat minor cuts and bruises on my own." I informed him, my voice still just as cold and distant as it had been before. "Tosh, Ianto, Owen, go home. You can return at 8:30 tomorrow to continue the clean-up."

"Raven…" Tosh began hesitantly but I raised my hand to stop her.

"I am not emotionally in a place where I can deal with anything right now. Go home, all of you. Come back tomorrow." I informed then making a conscious effort to soften my tone.

"Even me?" Owen raised an eyebrow.

"With Jack dead, I'm in charge. I'm temporarily suspending Jack's decision to fire you until such a time as I can determine whether it's worth it to keep you as a member of Torchwood." I informed Owen, my voice slipping back to the cold tone it had taken before.

"Is Jack truly dead? We saw him come back, and Gwen said…?" Ianto swallowed when I looked at him.

"Right now, Jack is dead. His recovery rate isn't consistent and he could be dead for a few hours to a few days. Considering the nature of Abaddon, I image it will be a few days." And with those words I turned and starting walking to Jack's office. "Go home."